Winning Post

This week in Winning Post

The Championships are over but the Sydney carnival kicks on this Saturday, Randwick playing host to the harbour city's final two Group 1s of the season.

The two-year-olds stretch to 1600 metres in the Champagne Stakes while the weight-for-age sprinters led by Trapeze Artist battle it out in the All Aged Stakes.

Trapeze Artist, who upstaged Redzel in winning the T.J. Smith Stakes on day one of The Championships, could stake his claim to be named Australia's champion sprinter wit hvictory on Saturday.

Elsewhere there's plenty of cash up for grabs at Caulfield on VOBIS Owners and Breeders day while Adealde's autumn warms up, there's black type in Brisbane and it's WA Derby day in the west.

Our form coverage kicks off on Friday with full form guides for the Cranbourne night meeting, plus the daytime action at Hamilton and Canberra as well as fields, colours and selections for Muswellbrook and Gatton.

The metro racing this Saturday is at Caulfield in Melbourne, Randwick in Sydney, Morphettville in Adelaide, Doomben in Brisbane and Ascot in Perth.

Winning Post carries full-colour liftout guides for all those meetings plus Bairnsdale (Vic/SA/Tas edition), Kembla Grange (NSW edition) and Gold Coast (Queensland edition), as well as fields, tips, ratings and/or colours for other TAB Saturday cards.

On Sunday we've got liftout formguides for four more TAB meetings, plus fields, ratings, tips and colours for a stack more Sunday and Monday programs.

Don't forget Winning Post now carries trackwork reports for all four Melbourne training tracks, all three in Sydney, Morphettville in Adelaide and a general Brisbane report.

Away from the form, we've got news columns from Queensland, NSW, six Victorian districts, SA and Tasmania.

Our readers have their say on page 6, while elsewhere in the paper Shane Templeton reminisces, Paul Richards presents his unique take on the sport, Tony Kneebone brings you his Snippets column and Number Cruncher delivers the stats that matter.

Winning Post costs $5 and is available Thursday afternoon in selected Melbourne newsagents, the crack of dawn Friday elsewhere.

... More

Inside Winning Post April 21 edition you'll find liftout form guides for:

Friday:

Cranbourne (night), Hamilton, Canberra

Saturday:

Caulfield, Randwick, Morphettville, Doomben, Ascot, Bairnsdale (Vic/SA/Tas edition), Kembla Grange (NSW edition), Gold Coast (Qld edition)

Sunday:

Sportsbet-Ballarat, Goulburn, Sunshine Coast, Port Augusta

Eye Catchers

Each week Paul Richards identifies horses from recent race meetings that he believes are ready to win. Here we update you when they are about to have their next start.

Caulfield Saturday - R2 N5 So Si Bon 5th

Royal Randwick Saturday - R6 N3 Outrageous 5th

Results

Letter of the Week

Wrong way, go back

I find the directive to have racehorses led in the clockwise direction in the parade ring to be totally wrong, for six reasons.
1. From the first days of education, horses are taught to be led from the near (left) side and it becomes natural for them to walk with the handler on that side. to be continually pushed sideways in the parade ring as they walk clockwise around each turn creates an unnecessary confrontation between horse and human on raceday.
2. The head, neck and shoulders of the horse dangerously blocks vision of the horse the strapper is following on each turn. The safety of these participants should be paramount.
3. Two strappers would solve the problem, but it would be an unnecessary and wasteful cost.
4. Prior to mounting, trainer and jockey are wedged between horse and fence with no escape from a fractious thoroughbred. Jockeys are told to mount their horses quickly as they walk past, with no opportunity to check their gear. That check therefore often has to happen behind the barriers.
5. For the safety of all concerned, the expanse of grass in the centre of the parade ring is far preferable for trainer, jockey and strapper. Horses led in the anti-clockwise direction are much easier to handle. Jockeys can inspect their gear and the flow of horses is not affected.
6. If the safety of spectators is a concern, they can be fenced away at a safe distance from the horses at a minimal cost to the industry.

Walter McShane
Longford (Tas)